NHS remodel starts this summer

Niwot High School’s remodeling project will take two summers to complete. Plans are for the work to begin this summer, be paused while school is in session, and then begin again in the summer of 2019, with completion being August of 2019.

As part of the $260 million bond issue passed in November 2016, NHS’s commons, library and auditorium will be the most changed elements, along with the addition of interior natural lighting enhancements.

These improvements will “increase daylight in the building and movement through the hallways,” SVVSD Director of Communications Kerri McDermid said

Letting in more light is the “continuation of a trend toward addressing energy usage,” NHS Principal Eric Rauschkolb said. “Last summer we added two electric vehicle charging stations and we’re now adding solar panels to handle 60 percent of the school’s energy needs.”

Additionally, he cited studies showing students are better able to pay attention and have increased brain activity when they work in areas with natural light. The plan is to add a solar tube at the entry of every interior classroom.

“It can feel like there’s an upstairs and a basement here,” Rauschkolb said. “We want to do away with the feeling of a basement, so some new design elements will help to unify the building,”

The student commons will be expanded and changed to enhance the studying and social environment. The auditorium stage floor will be replaced and new carpeting and audience seats will be installed. The library remodel design has not been finalized, but is likely to include changes to the layout and aesthetics of the space.

“We might also be moving the counseling suite and a couple of classrooms,” Rauschkolb said.

The SVVSD website also mentions increased interior security cameras, addressing air flow problems in the kiln room, boiler maintenance, drinking fountain upgrades, water temperature issues being addressed and new science room fume hoods.